RE: Lung Biopsies

From:"Marshall Terry Dr, Consultant Histopathologist"

I presume it is transbronchial biopsies that you are talking about. Best of luck. Having done these (not in great numbers) for 25 years, I can tell you that the value of these things is very limited. As I think you are suggesting, any alveolar tissue is collapsed, and I have always had difficulty in deciding if it is fibrosis or factitious collapse. Most seem to be bronchial wall and fibrous strands coming from it only. 
Altogether, a frustrating exercise. 
Just occasionally, one can recognise sarcoid.
I don't think there could be anyway to expand collapsed alveoli. The real problem with these biopsies is that they are just too ruddy small!

Many years ago, (not in relation to transbronchials) I read of a technique of putting lung in soda water, the idea being that as the gas came out of solution, it filled the alveoli.
Anyone tried this?


Terry L Marshall B.A.(Law), M.B.Ch.B., F.R.C.Path
Consultant Histopathologist
Rotherham General Hospital, Yorkshire
terry.marshall@rothgen.nhs.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: Eman Namati [mailto:enamati@dpi.radiology.uiowa.edu]
Sent: 20 December 2002 17:13
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Lung Biopsies




I was wondering what methods people were using for processing lung biopsies?
Are there any particular protocols which result in good histology and 
structured i.e. where the alveoli have not collapsed?

Thanks

Eman

-- 
Eman Namati
Project Manager, Lung Image Database Consortium
Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
University of Iowa
200 Hawkins Dr., 378 MRF
Iowa City, IA 52242
Tel: (319) 384-8331
Mob: (319) 936-5487
Fax: (319) 353-6406







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